Afghan delegates support talks with Taliban

KABUL - Delegates to an Afghan peace conference voiced strong support Friday for unconditional negotiations between their government and the Taliban to try to end years of war.

Presenting the reports of working groups to 1,500 representatives from a cross-section of Afghan society, delegates one after another told the conference that talking with the insurgents was the best hope to end the violence.

But details of how to handle reconciliation with the Taliban were likely to be couched only in general terms, because of a diversity of opinion on a range of issues. The Taliban have dismissed the gathering as a "phony reconciliation process" and insist they will not negotiate until all foreign troops leave Afghanistan - a condition President Hamid Karzai could not accept. "We should begin negotiations with all the opposition groups, without any conditions," delegate Amanullah Usmanzai said.